Although you can technically get this traditional summer dessert all over Japan, it seems fitting to eat it in Asakusa, a neighborhood of Tokyo steeped in tradition. A mountain of razor thin sliced ice drizzled with milk and covered with matcha (green tea) powder, finally topped with a scoop of sweet azuki red beans. On…
Tag: matcha
Tohoku Week – Kanrantei
When you sit down in Kanrantei and served a frothy matcha and sweet wagashi, you may not realize the building you are in may be better traveled in Japan than you. Kanrantei teahouse was a gift to Data Musumine, the daimyo who founded the city of Sendai, from the legendary Japanese leader Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Kanrantei was built…
Kakigori
When July and August roll around, the people of Japan swoon in the hot and humid weather. Perhaps that feeling led to the invention of kakigori, finely shaved ice flavored with a variety of sweet goodness. Kakigori is widely available on the cheap with a variety of artificial, bright colored flavored syrups like strawberry, lemon,…
Koicha
No, it’s not green paint, though you’d be forgiven for mistaking it for such. Koicha is thick green tea, consumed almost exclusively in tea ceremony. Koicha tends to be more expensive than normal green tea as it requires a very high grade leaf with a milder, sweeter taste. This is because the amount of tea used…
茶道 Tea Ceremony
Tea ceremony is an art form that is still widely practiced in Japan. Besides learning from tea masters through instruction, many public schools still have after school clubs to teach tea ceremony to young women and men. The act of serving tea embodies the Japanese spirit of service and humility; the tools used in tea…
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